Seminole courthouse memorial to honor those who died in line of duty

Rendering shows a memorial planned for the front of the Seminole… (Seminole County )

2:53 p.m. EST, May 25, 2012|By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel

After years of delays, Seminole County is moving ahead with plans to build a $1.5 million memorial to honor the county's police officers, firefighters and members of the military who died while on duty.

Plans unveiled by the county this week show that the Heroes Memorial will surround the fountain in front of the courthouse on U.S. Highway 17-92 near Lake Mary. It will feature separate monuments for firefighters, police officers and members of the military, including Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.

The memorial will include flags, brick paving, lighting and a sound system for services in a parklike setting. Statues of a firefighter and a police officer will stand at opposite ends of the memorial.

"I was really thrilled when I saw the designs," Commissioner John Horan said. "It is not only dignified but is a usable kind of open, living memorial, where people will want to congregate. …I think this mixes practicality and tribute in a wonderful way."

The first phase of the project is expected to cost $700,550. Money will be drawn from various sources, including $250,000 in the county's general fund; $92,000 in a sheriff's fund set up to collect donations to honor Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Eugene "Gene" Gregory, who was killed on duty in 1998; and about $525,000 in bond money saved from the county's 2007 jail expansion project.

Lisa Spriggs, the county's director of fiscal services, said the leftover jail-expansion money will be used first.

The second phase of the memorial will include bricks, benches and monuments with names of those who have died. That part — expected to cost $824,000 — will be paid for mainly through donations raised by the nonprofit Seminole County Heroes Memorial Association, formed in early 2008.

The next step is for county staff and consultants to put together a more detailed construction plan before breaking ground. County officials said that could happen by the summer of 2013. Completion will depend on how quickly the second phase progresses.

The idea for the memorial was sparked nearly a decade ago. In 2008, County Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide spearheaded efforts to create a nonprofit association to raise donations, and the county hired Orlando architecture firm Herbert-Halback to design the memorial.

But the economic downturn caused a drop in county revenue and contributions for the memorial.

"By not having more definitive plans, it was difficult to have a major fundraising campaign for the memorial," said Frank Ioppolo, president and director of the Heroes Memorial Association.

Now, with plans on the memorial moving forward again, "we have discussed stepping up efforts to raise funds for the project," Ioppolo said.

County Manager Jim Hartmann lauded the plans.

"We have a great opportunity to create something wonderful for the community," he told commissioners.